Love No fuss, No muss.....

Epiphyllums that bloom year after year with little to no maintenance.  These are the first flowers of this year to show their pretty faces.  :)

To read about them:

Epiphyllum

Have a wonderful weekend!

Enjoy the Journey~

My oldest son turns 26 on May 2nd.  Really NOT sure how that has happened so fast!  Last night we took both him and Morgan (plus the rest of us) out to dinner to their favorite restaurant to celebrate their week apart birthdays.  Pizookie!

I piddled and piddled around with this card and wasn't quite sure if I was happy with the result until he opened it and loved it.  He started going over all the little details asking me did I sew on it, how did I get the color on the tag part, what did I do to ink the edges and such.  And then his comment that he'll add it to the box of things I've made for him over the years.  It put a smile on my heart for sure!  He's growing into such a great man.

Supplies:

Stamps: The Journey by Tim Holtz Artistry Collection, Just the Ticket by Papertrey Ink

Ink: Vintage Photo, Weathered Wood and Antique Linen Distress Inks

Paper: GKD Pure Luxury Ivory

Patterned Paper: Max & Whiskers by Basic Grey

Other: Burlap thread, Sewing machine, Paperclip,Blue 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon, Black 7/8" Grosgrain, Ticket die (PTI), Distressing tool, Corner rounders, Sanding block, Dimensional foam

V.~

Branching Out and Follow Your Dreams GKD Inspiration Hop~

Welcome to another day of inspiration blog hopping using 2 new sets that are available now at

Gina K Designs: 

Branching Out and Follow Your Dreams

Today, it's guy card day around here! From what I hear from many stampers, guy cards present a challenge as they don't come as easily as making a card for a the women in our lives or for the rambunctious kids we love.  So I thought I would take these 2 sets, which could easily go feminine, and show the masculine side of them.

Below is the full pic of the sneak peek from last Thursday.  The images and sentiment are just part of Theresa Momber's new set Follow your Dreams

To make the rustic feel on the focal image, I dragged 2 distress ink pads across GKD Pure Luxury Ivory card stock before stamping and die cutting.  Now, I confess, and I can hear a few of my DT team members chuckling, I own a whole 3 distress ink pads, so to use 2 of them in one fell swoop, well....it's craziness!  LOL

After it was stamped and die cut, I colored it with Prismacolor colored pencils.  A few drags of the same ink over the GKD Tan Leather for the bottom panel were applied before stamping the birthday sentiment.  A twill half bow and stamped cattails and dragonflies finish it off.

Finished card is 4-1/4" x 5-1/2"

Supplies not listed:

Ink: Antique Linen and Weathered Wood Ranger Distress Ink, Versafine Onyx Black, Nestabilities Oval dies, Dimensional foam

For this next card, I combined Theresa's set with Branching Out, Melanie's newest set, to make a gift card enclosure

 

For this base of gift card holder, I stamped the largest of the branch images onto patterned paper and trimmed off the border, just leaving the image you see, a striped strip with linen thread stitching and a "bradded" tab were added to help balance the weight at the bottom and add a pop of color.  The focal panel was stamped with the round branch image and die cut.  The sentiment is from Follow your Dreams, omitting the dragonfly and substituting a blue bird from Branching Out that is popped up with dimensional foam. 

Finished holder is 4-1/4"x 3-1/4"

 Supplies not listed:

Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia, VersaMagic Aegean Blue; Paper: GKD Pure Luxury Ivory; Patterned Paper: Basic Grey Pyrus, Nestabilities Circle die

For even more samples of these new sets, please visit each of the GKD Design Team blogs listed below and leave a comment.  The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have of winning!  Gina will announce the randomly chosen winners on her blog tomorrow!

• Gina K
• Giovana Smith
• Janice Whiting
• Jennie Harper
• Jimmi Mayo
• Lee Murphy
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Michelle Woerner
• Sharon Harnist
• Suzanne Dean
• Tami Mayberry
• Theresa Momber
• Tina Gilliland
• Valerie Stangle
• Vicki Dutcher
• AJ Otto
• Carolina Buchting
• Cathy Tidwell
• Deb Felts
• Donna Baker
• Emily Giovanni

Happy Hoppin' and Happy 18th Birthday to my daughter, Morgan!

V.~

18 & Full of Possibilities!

I blinked and she turned 18. How did that happen so quickly? Her life is just beginning and is so full of possibilities!

Happy Birthday, Morgan!

Finished card is 4-1/2" x 6-1/4"


Thanks Amy for continued inspiration!

Supplies:

Stamps: Life Is and The Journey by Our Craft Lounge, SU! Rough Edge Alpha (& sign, retired)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Vivid Aqua

Paper: GKD White, SU! Melon Mambo

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey

Other: Satin ribbon, Eyelet, Clip, Spiral punch, Black mini brads, Staple, Dimensional foam

V.~

with deepest sympathy~

Jay requested a sympathy card for a friend/co-worker.
Simple, yet elegant, perfect for him to give to the recipient and his family to send our condolences.

Modified layout from a previous post using this floral stamp.

Finished card is 4-1/2" x 6-1/4"

Supplies:

Stamps: With Sympathy and Springtime by Unity Stamp Company

Ink: Vivid! Chocolate, Memento Desert Sand

Markers: Memento Pear Tart, Grape Jelly

Paper: GKD Soft Sand, Ivory

Patterned paper: Basic Grey

Other: SU! Spiral punch, Eyelet, Burlap String, Distressing tool, Corner rounder, Dauber, Dimensionals

V.~

Gina K Designs April Release Inspiration Hop~

Welcome to day one of Inspiration Hops for Gina K Designs April release.

Garden Silhouettes is this month's Free with 3 set, see Gina K Designs for the details on how to get this set for free!

I've combined it with a new texture background set called Timeless Textures and used the rock and roll technique to frame the flowers.  The flowers were colored direct to stamp with markers and spritzed lightly with water before stamping on the image panel.

I also made a matching tall, skinny (Mish) notebook with magnetic closure.  I'm still using one that Mish sent to me one year for Christmas, it's battered and well loved!   Their size is just right; 5" x 8" memo pads cut in half the long way by your office supply store.  Add an stamped and embellished cover and they are the perfect size to keep at hand for your favorite listmaker.

I've kept both samples free of sentiments on the front, sometimes it just feels like the right thing to do....

For even more samples of these new sets, please visit each of the GKD Design Team blogs listed below and leave a comment.  The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have of winning!  Gina will announce the randomly chosen winners on her blog tomorrow!

• Gina K
• AJ Otto
• Carolina Buchting
• Cathy Tidwell
• Deb Felts
• Donna Baker
• Emily Giovanni
• Giovana Smith
• Janice Whiting
• Jennie Harper
• Jimmi Mayo
• Lee Murphy
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Michelle Woerner
• Sharon Harnist
• Theresa Momber
• Tina Gilliland
• Valerie Stangle
• Vicki Dutcher

Supplies:

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes and Timeless Textures by Gina K Designs

Ink: Memento Desert Sand, Rich Cocoa

Markers: Memento Pear Tart, Rose Bud

Paper: GKD Ocean Mist, Chocolate Brown, Green Apple, Ivory

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey

Other: Buttons, Linen thread, Clip, GKD Ribbon, White mini brad, Magnetic closure, Scor-Pal, Corner rounder, White pen, Distressing tool, Dimensional foam

Happy Hoppin'!

V.~

GKD April Release Party Invitation and Blog Hop~

 We are very excited to extend an invitation to Gina K. Designs April Release Party. We have a fun evening planned for you - chatting, prizes, challenges, stamp sets reveal, design team shares, and most importantly, at the end of the party you will be able to go shopping!

If you came from Tina's, you're at the right place. If not make sure to head over to StampTV where you will find a list of all those participating in today's hop.

Here's a sneak peek of one of the cards I will be sharing at the party.



Hope to see you at the party, here are all the details:

• When: Today, Thursday, April 21
• Where: StampTV Release Party Forum
• Time: 7 PM to 9 PM (CST)

 Now head on over to Vicki's to see what sneak peek she's sharing with you today and see you back here tomorrow for the beginning of our three day Inspiration Blog Hop series for April!

V.~

Basket Tags~

A couple of basket tags for treats on Sunday~

inspired by all of pine's tags over the years. 

A bit of carrot paper piecing, sentiment trimming to make a new sentiment, and their stamped name was a quick and easy project this morning before both climbed out of bed....still waiting on one, you'll never guess who that is?!  Both are matted on scalloped ovals in their favorite color.  A complementary color for the ribbon hanger and they are ready to go!

Stamps:

Vegtastic by Paper Smooches, alpha is a $1 set currently at Michaels

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Rose Bud

Paper: GKD Sweet Mango, Turquoise Sea, Kraft, Ocean Mist, Lemon Drop

Patterned Paper: BoBunny

Other: Nestabilities Oval and Scalloped Oval dies, Grosgrain ribbon, Eyelet (not seen), Staple, Dimensional foam

Happy Wednesday!

V.~

and the winner is......

A random number app picked:

Animatarian

Please email me (under My Profile) your snail mail address and I'll pop the samples and card in the mail!

Thanks for leaving your comments.

Valerie~

Bleach for You?

Remember these from yesterday?

All these bleach samples will sit here for decades, well not really decades, but they will sit for a long time until I forget where they are in my stamping area.

I am not a stamper who pre-stamps images, pre-cuts cardstock to have ready, or one who generally has a plan.  I wish I was more like some of my stamping friends who keep an art journal with sketches and ideas in it, but I am not.  Not that I haven't tried, I have 2 beautiful black leather covered art journals - small and medium, both to be used to jot down ideas and notes and such - however, their pages are still pristine as the day they left the factory.

When I start to create, I often see in my head where it's going or have somewhat of an idea when I start.  Most often the stamps or paper speak silently to me.  If I need a little inspiration to kick start the process I will check out out the plethora of sketches that are available web-wide, or page through magazines, or even take a trip down memory lane with my own work, or visit the blogs of a favorite or two.  But most often I just follow my creative juices and see where it leads.  Sometimes it leads straight to the recycling bin a few times before success happens! :)

So, the languishing images will not do me any good here.  So here is what I am offering:

Leave a comment here telling me your crafting process.  Are you a planner, a fly-by-nighter, a journal keeper, or what?  What is your process?

I'll draw a name on Monday, the 18th and announce the winner of all the bleach stamped samples and the card I made - it's a great way to see and feel (most of) the colors of Gina's cardstock if you haven't tried it before! 

The fine print:

• Only 1 entry per person
• Must live in the United States
• The winning name will be posted here on Monday evening.
• The winner has 24 hours to email me with their mailing information or another name will be drawn.  My email address is available under View My Complete Profile on the RIGHT sidebar.

Have a great weekend!

Valerie~

Bleached Silhouette~

Welcome to a fun Gina K. Designs Design Team hop! Today we are showing techniques of all kinds as featured on Stamp TV. We hope you enjoy hopping through the variety of techniques and are inspired to try something new!

I chose to use the bleach technique.  It has been awhile since I pulled out the bleach and used it in my crafting.  To make a bleach "stamp pad" use a plate and a folded up paper towel.  Pour a little bleach on the paper towel and let it absorb, then use as you would use an ink pad.  

Bleach as an Ink Pad - StampTV

First thing I did was to stamp the image on every single color of Gina K Designs Pure Luxury colored cardstock that I own to see how the bleach would react to the properties of the cardstock.  It can differ paper batch to paper batch and age of bleach, so your experiment may be different than mine.

Most of them bleached out wonderfully with the exception of lavender, lilac and bubblegum pink.

I chose to go with the Chocolate Brown bleached cardstock.  The bleach created a golden orange color for the image.  After stamping I let it sit a little while to be certain it was dry and the bleach odor had dissipated a bit and then I followed up with a little bit of accent coloring using Prismacolor colored pencils.

Layout is based on the StampTV Sketch Challenge

Your next stop on the Technique Blog Hop is:

Tina

To see a master list of all who are technique hopping: 
Technique Highlight Blog Hop

Have fun!

Stamps: GKD Silhouette floral image from Springtime Silhouettes, Thanks so very much sentiment from Framed Greetings

Ink: Vivid Chocolate, Memento Desert Sand

Paper: GKD Pure Luxury Chocolate Brown, Sweet Mango and Ivory

Patterned Paper: Grunge Damask Quarters Digital Paper by Emily Giovanni for GKD

Other: Bleach, Prismacolor pencils, Nestabilites Oval and Circle Dies, Fiskars Threading Waters punch, Spiral punch, Green satin ribbon, Dimensional foam

V.~

Be True To You~

Quick, no frills, "just because" card on its way to the PNW.

Stamps: Dandy Days and The Journey by Our Craft Lounge

Ink: Memento Desert Sand, Rich Cocoa

Markers: Memento Pear Tart, Rose Bud
Paper: GKD Ivory and Chocolate, unk Green
Patterned Paper: Sweet Threads by Basic Grey
Other: Rockin' Pink Sparkly Fluff, Nestabilities Rectangle and Scalloped Rectangle Dies, EK Success Embossed Scallop punch, SU! Spiral Punch, Pink satin ribbon, Misting bottle, Dauber, Dimensionals

Finished card 4.5" x 4.5"

V.~

Sing Your Best Life~

Live your life with grace...

I've had this one sheet of Webster's Pages paper for way over a year, looking at it, trying to decide how to use it.  I just loved the sayings on it when I bought it and the colors are "my colors" so it truly spoke to me.  It was one of those pieces I never wanted to cut....we all have paper like that, don't we?

Well, yesterday and today I cut it up and played a bit.  A small paper covered clipboard to hang by my counter, a memo pad, and paper covered shipping tag.

V.~